2011: The year India began to harness social media http://cis-india.org/news/2011-the-year-india-began-to-harness-social-media
<b>About half a decade ago, netizens began to expand their online presence by forging new relationships, rediscovering old ones and sharing information and content on what came to be collectively termed as social media. The year gone by marked a new milestone for this social media phenomenon, which saw a paradigm shift from merely being a networking platform to becoming a political tool, writes Satarupa Paul in the Sunday Guardian on 1 January 2012.</b>
<p>2011 was a year of diametrically contradictory events, however, what joined these diverse proceedings together was their concurrent presence in social media, which attracted users to its growing landscape, changing forever the ways in which we connect and interact online.</p>
<p>An infographic by <em>Search Media Journal </em>showed that registered users on social networking premier Facebook grew more than 80% in the past year, taking the count to 640 million people. It said that if Facebook were a country, it would be the world's third largest, after China and India. Interestingly, microblogging site Twitter saw a whopping growth of more than 250% in the number of tweets per day. Social media penetration increased by 3% in India to more than 38 million users. Social media agency We Are Social says that India now has the second-highest number of LinkedIn users and the fourth-highest number of Facebook users in the world. However, a fascinating aspect of the growth in India's social media landscape is that most of it has been achieved by mobile subscription, which jumped by 71% in 2011.</p>
<p>Nishant Shah, Director of Research at the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, identifies three important social media trends for India in 2011, which can be extended to the rest of the world. "Firstly, we saw an increased sharing of digital content whether photos, videos, songs, news or blogs," he says, pointing to the <em>Why This Kolaveri Di </em>video, which went viral on YouTube with over 1.3 million views within a week of its release. "The second and most prominent trend was the mobilisation of masses towards particular causes," Shah says. Twitter and Facebook helped gather mass support for the Anna Hazare movement in India. Even the Arab Spring uprisings, notably in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East, relied heavily on social media, as did the Occupy Wall Street protests, where Twitter established itself as a communicator of the movement.</p>
<p class="callout">"The third aspect is the draconian censorship measures that followed as governments realised the threats they faced from social media platforms.The mobilisation on social media that ultimately translated into protests saw a critical mass being achieved, which made governments take notice and impose the draconian rules."</p>
<p>"The third aspect is the draconian censorship measures that followed as governments realised the threats they faced from social media platforms," says Shah. Anja Kovacs of The Internet Democracy Project explains, "To understand what led to the censorship rules being enforced in the last one year, one has to understand the concept of critical mass." She says that for a medium to become effective, it has to reach a threshold of people active on it. "The mobilisation on social media that ultimately translated into protests saw a critical mass being achieved, which made governments take notice and impose the draconian rules," she said. In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak attempted to cut off the Internewwt, betraying his fear of this arsenal of social networking, while in India, the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Kapil Sibal, demanded that Internet firms should self-censor users' content. Kovacs says, "This was an extension of the Information Technology Rules introduced in April 2011, which requires intermediaries like Facebook, Google, etc., to remove any content if an individual complains against it on flimsy grounds like 'disparaging' or 'harmful for children'."</p>
<p>Most of these censorship attempts have only backfired, with social media users vehemently opposing and criticising them. But with pressure mounting from governments to curtail content, social media experts hope that 2012 will be a better year for one's freedom on the web. "I hope that social media remains as open as it is now and doesn't fall victim to the draconian measures," Shah says. Kovacs agrees, "Instead of censorships on weak arguments, we should try and have wider debates in society about what should be allowed and what not. Hope we will be able to achieve broader agreements in the coming year."</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://www.sunday-guardian.com/technologic/2011-the-year-india-began-to-harness-social-media">The original article was published in the Sunday Guardian </a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/2011-the-year-india-began-to-harness-social-media'>http://cis-india.org/news/2011-the-year-india-began-to-harness-social-media</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2012-01-04T07:19:07ZNews Item‘Right to Read’ campaign launched - Fighting against copyright regulationshttp://cis-india.org/news/2018right-to-read2019-campaign-launched-fighting-against-copyright-regulations
<b>To highlight the issues faced by persons with print disability – those deprived of Indian books due to unfriendly copyright regulations – a group of organisations launched the Right To Read (R2R) campaign on September 26 - an article by L Subramani, Sep 28th, Bangalore, Deccan Herald.
</b>
<p>The campaign, jointly launched by the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Daisy Forum of India (DFI), bookbole.com and Inclusive Planet, kickstarted at Loyola College in Chennai on Saturday.<br /><img src="http://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/Loyola%20College%20-%20Right%20to%20Read%20Campaign%20-Chennai.jpg/image_preview" title="Loyola College - Chennai" height="124" width="320" alt="Loyola College - Chennai" class="image-inline" /><br /><br />“This campaign was part of the World Blind Union’s (WBU) global campaign,” said Nirmita Narasimhan, Programme Manager, CIS. “We are asking all the organisations to lend their support to our initiative.” <br /><br />The campaign comes at a time when the Indian government is preparing to consider changes to the copyright law, which it failed to implement two years ago after disability rights campaigners objected to the proposal to make books and other print materials be made in an “exclusive” format.<br /><br />Nirmita said that this would also be an occasion for activists to urge Government of India to throw its weight behind a WBU treaty tabled at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) asking for a global copyright regulation that takes into account the needs of persons with print disabilities.<br /><br />“The treaty is coming up for discussion at Geneva (WIPO's head quarters) in December,” Nirmita said and added: “Right now only three Latin American nations are supporting it. Since India has the largest number of persons with print disability, which includes the visually challenged, persons with autism and children with learning difficulties, our support would likely tilt the balance in favour of the treaty.” Now, the campaign will be gradually taken to other parts of the country, said Rahul Cherian from Inclusive Planet. A signature campaign and distribution of a declaration supporting accommodation of persons with print disability in copyright laws will also be held as part of the campaign.<br /><br /><a class="external-link" href="http://www.deccanherald.com/content/27678/right-read-campaign-launched.html">Link to article in Deccan Herald</a><br /><br /><img src="http://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2R%20-1.jpg/image_preview" title="R2R - 1" height="265" width="400" alt="R2R - 1" class="image-inline" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2R%20-2.jpg/image_preview" title="R2R - 2" height="265" width="400" alt="R2R - 2" class="image-inline" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img src="http://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2R%20-3.jpg/image_preview" title="R2R - 3" height="265" width="400" alt="R2R - 3" class="image-inline" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; <img src="http://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2R%20-4.jpg/image_preview" title="R2R - 4" height="265" width="400" alt="R2R - 4" class="image-inline" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img src="http://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2R%20-5.jpg/image_preview" title="R2R - 5" height="265" width="400" alt="R2R - 5" class="image-inline" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2R%20-6.jpg/image_preview" title="R2R - 6" height="265" width="400" alt="R2R - 6" class="image-inline" /></p>
<p><img src="http://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2R%20-7.jpg/image_preview" title="R2R - 7" height="265" width="400" alt="R2R - 7" class="image-inline" /></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/2018right-to-read2019-campaign-launched-fighting-against-copyright-regulations'>http://cis-india.org/news/2018right-to-read2019-campaign-launched-fighting-against-copyright-regulations</a>
</p>
No publisherradhaAccessibility2011-04-02T14:54:34ZNews ItemTara Textreader, a boon for the visually-challengedhttp://cis-india.org/news/2018right-to-read2019-campaign-launched-fighting-against-copyright-regulations-1
<b>An article by M Ramya – Times of India, 26th September, 2009</b>
<p>CHENNAI: Mahendran loses track of time as he listens to portions from Romeo and Juliet through Tara. The final year B A (Tamil) student of Loyola College is pleased with the Rs 1.35-lakh Tara Textreader that allows him to access printed material without help and convey information without a scribe. "The Sangeetha software has an Indian accent. So I have no problem accessing material in English," says Mahendran, who has visual disabilities. <br /><br />Earlier, students like him could not access printed material that hadn't been digitized. Their computer systems could not read material that wasn't pre-recorded. Professor Jerald Inico, a lecturer in the computer science department and faculty in charge of the college's Resource Centre for Differently Abled, says the Textreader need not even be connected to a computer. <br /><br />He says: "We were trying to come up with a formula to evaluate students with visual disabilities because we felt that when scribes write down the answers for the students some of the content would be lost in translation. The equipment can scan the question paper and read it out and will also allow the student to answer verbally and store it as an audio clip. For students who become blind later in life and have not learnt Braille this is a big help." <br /><br />Tara, purchased from funds provided by the ministry of social justice and empowerment, can only speak English; now through Sangeetha the college is trying to install a Tamil optical character recognition software. <br /><br />While the students use Tara to read books now the equipment will be tested for exam evaluation during the April 2010 semester exams. But Mahendran is a bit wary. "If we can use Tara and still get extra time for the exams it will prove beneficial, but if we are given the same time as the others because we are using the textreader it will take time to comprehend what is being read to us and give the appropriate answers." <br /><br />The college is also supporting a nationwide Right to Read' campaign for persons with print impairments to be launched in Chennai on Saturday. Nirmita Narasimhan, programme manager at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) which is one of the organisers of the campaign, says: "Two years ago when we proposed a change in the Copyright Act a clause was incoporated that said that books can be reproduced in formats exclusively for the use of the blind. This limits the reproduction to one or two options and newer technologies cannot be used. It also leaves out people with other disabilities like the dyslexic who also have print impairments. Technology is enabling, but law is disabling. We want to create awareness of the issue through the campaign." <br /><br />Registration for the campaign begins at 8 am at the college. The CIS, DAISY Forum of India and Bookbole will take the campaign to other cities in the country.</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/chennai/Tara-Textreader-a-boon-for-the-visually-challenged/articleshow/5058157.cms">Link to the article in TOI</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/2018right-to-read2019-campaign-launched-fighting-against-copyright-regulations-1'>http://cis-india.org/news/2018right-to-read2019-campaign-launched-fighting-against-copyright-regulations-1</a>
</p>
No publisherradhaAccessibility2011-04-02T14:52:53ZNews Item‘Right to read’ campaign launched (The Hindu)http://cis-india.org/news/2018right-to-read2019-campaign-launched-the-hindu
<b>An article in The Hindu, 29th September, on the 'Right to Read' campaign, launched on 26th Sept, in Loyola College, Chennai </b>
<p>CHENNAI: About 100 National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers from various colleges in the State kick-started a ‘right to read’ campaign at Loyola College recently. The aim of the campaign is to make books accessible to persons with disabilities. <br /><br />The speakers, who included the visually challenged, persons with low vision and dyslexia, said the Copyright Act did not allow persons with print impairments to convert reading matter using assistive technologies to accessible formats. Dipendra Manocha, executive committee member of World Blind Union, said: “We need organisations, individuals and volunteers to contribute and create accessible books.”</p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<img src="http://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2R%20-%20DC.jpg/image_preview" title="R2R - Dipendra Manocha" height="167" width="228" alt="R2R - Dipendra Manocha" class="image-inline" /></p>
<p>Nirmitha Narasimhan, programme manager of the Centre for Internet and Society felt access to information would ensure a better contribution by the visually challenged to society. “It is not that we are insensitive. The suggestion for amendments to the Copyright Act has not yet been incorporated,” she said.</p>
<p>Writer Sreekumar Varma, who inaugurated the campaign, recalled his experience as a scribe during his days as a lecturer. C.P. Chandrasekar, treasurer, National Association for the Blind, and Loyola College Principal Albert Muthumalai spoke.</p>
<p>&nbsp;<br /><a class="external-link" href="http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/29/stories/2009092957440200.htm">Link to the article in The Hindu</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/2018right-to-read2019-campaign-launched-the-hindu'>http://cis-india.org/news/2018right-to-read2019-campaign-launched-the-hindu</a>
</p>
No publisherradhaAccessibility2011-04-02T14:52:56ZNews ItemTwenty-five distinguished experts appointed to Global Commission on Internet Governance’s Research Advisory Networkhttp://cis-india.org/news/25-experts-appointed-to-global-commission-on-ig-research-advisory-network
<b>Twenty-five distinguished scholars and internationally recognized experts have been appointed to the Global Commission on Internet Governance’s (GCIG) new Research Advisory Network (RAN). </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Sunil Abraham is one the 25 experts appointed to the Global Commission on Internet Governance’s Research Advisory Network. Read the original published by the Global Commission on Internet Governance <a class="external-link" href="https://www.ourinternet.org/#press">here</a>.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Global Commission is a two-year initiative launched in January 2014, by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and Chatham House. Chaired by Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, the commission will produce a comprehensive stand on the future of multi-stakeholder Internet governance.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The commission’s RAN, led by CIGI Senior Fellow Laura DeNardis, will assist in identifying and prioritizing Internet governance and Internet policy related issues within the commission’s mandate. Members of the RAN will provide expert briefings to the members of the commission and conduct research and analysis for the commission’s preparatory work and final report.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“The research advisory network will be an indispensable component of the Global Commission on Internet Governance,” said Fen Osler Hampson, co-director of the commission and director of CIGI’s Global Security &amp; Politics program. “Under the direction of Laura DeNardis, the RAN will be of great benefit to this initiative’s critical analysis and findings. I’m grateful that these experts have agreed to participate.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The twenty-five member network consists of:</p>
<ol>
<li>Sunil Abraham</li>
<li> Izumi Aizu</li>
<li> Peng Hwa Ang</li>
<li> Subimal Bhattacharjee</li>
<li> David Clark</li>
<li> Sadie Creese</li>
<li> Leslie Daigle</li>
<li> Oleg Demidov</li>
<li> William Dutton</li>
<li> Lorraine Eden</li>
<li> Laurent Elder</li>
<li> Patrik Fältström</li>
<li> Tobias Feakin</li>
<li> Urs Gasser</li>
<li> Clem Herman</li>
<li> Jeanette Hofmann</li>
<li> Konstantinos Komaitis</li>
<li> Ronaldo Lemos</li>
<li> Meryem Marzouki</li>
<li> Carolina Rossini</li>
<li> Michael Schmitt</li>
<li> Emily Taylor</li>
<li> Rolf H. Weber</li>
<li> Andrew Wyckoff</li>
<li> Christopher S. Yoo</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Additional RAN members will be confirmed over time. For more information on the GCIG, including its twenty-nine commissioners and twenty-five research advisers, please visit: <a href="http://www.ourinternet.org/">www.ourinternet.org</a>. Follow the commission on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ourinternetgcig">@OurInternetGCIG</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/25-experts-appointed-to-global-commission-on-ig-research-advisory-network'>http://cis-india.org/news/25-experts-appointed-to-global-commission-on-ig-research-advisory-network</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2014-04-03T07:20:24ZNews Item3rd Global Congress on IP and the Public Interest & Open A.I.R. Conference on Innovation and IP in Africa http://cis-india.org/news/3rd-global-congress-ip-and-public-interest-open-air-conference-innovation-and-ip-africa
<b>From 9 to 13 December 2013, delegates from national and international governmental governmental entities, the private sector, civil society, and academia gathered for five days of interconnected events in Cape Town. </b>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Sunil Abraham participated as a speaker in the sessions on Bridging into the Global Congress: Global Issues, Local Answers?, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.openair.org.za/content/user-rights">User Rights Track: What Medicines Can Teach Tech: Exploring Patent Pooling and Compulsory Licensing in the Indian Mobile Device Market</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.openair.org.za/content/user-rights">User Rights Track: Reclaiming the World Trade Organisation: A Modest Proposal for a WTO Agreement on the Supply of Global Public Goods</a>, and was a keynote speaker on <a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/freedom-continuum.pdf" class="external-link">The Freedom Continuum</a>. Nehaa Chaudhari also participated in this event. Click to read more about the event published on the website of open A.I.R. <a class="external-link" href="http://www.openair.org.za/content/3rd-global-congress-ip-and-public-interest-open-air-conference-innovation-and-ip-africa">here</a>. The full programme can be seen <a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/3rd-global-congress-ip-and-public-interest-open-air-conference-innovation-and-ip-africa.pdf" class="internal-link">here</a>.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Participants will engage with diverse perspectives and future scenarios for intellectual property (IP), innovation and development during the combined 3rd Global Congress on IP and the Public Interest and Open A.I.R. Conference on Innovation and IP in Africa.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>The event is now fully subscribed</b>, with only registrations invited by Congress &amp; Conference organisers being accpted. For further details, please visit this website's <a href="http://www.openair.org.za/capetown2013">Cape Town 2013</a> page.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The <a href="http://www.uct.ac.za/" target="_blank">University of Cape Town (UCT)</a> Faculty of Law's <a href="http://uctipunit.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">IP Unit </a>is serving as host of the Congress &amp; Conference. Implementating partners include the <a href="http://www.aucegypt.edu/Business/A2K4D/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">Access to Knowledge for</a><a href="http://www.aucegypt.edu/Business/A2K4D/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank"> Development Center (A2K4D)</a> at The American University in Cairo, the <a href="http://nials-nigeria.org/" target="_blank">Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS)</a> at the University of Lagos, the<a href="http://cipitlawstrath.wordpress.com" target="_blank"> Centre for IP and IT Law (CIPIT) </a>at Srathmore University in Nairobi, the <a href="http://www.commonlaw.uottawa.ca/index.php">Faculty of Law </a>at the University of Ottawa and the <a href="http://www.wcl.american.edu/pijip/" target="_blank">Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property <br /></a>at American University in Washington, DC.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Congress and Conference funding is being provided by Canada’s <a href="http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">International Development Research Centre (IDRC)</a>, Germany’s <a href="http://www.bmz.de/en/index.html" target="_blank">Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)</a> and the <a href="http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org" target="_blank">Open Society Foundations</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Date: Monday, 9 December, 2013 to Friday, 13 December, 2013<br />Place: Cape Town<br />Type of Event: Conference</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Sunil Abraham provided a hilarious talk on The Freedom Continuum. An example: “Freedom is like the Kama Sutra – there are many positions one can take.” Mr. Abraham also brilliantly suggested a method for plausible deniability in the world of biometric identification and oppressive government oversight. By posting all of my biometric information (fingerprints, eye scans, etc.) on the internet, I can plausibly deny any crimes or contracts or tracking by the government because, well, it’s all online so it couldn’t have been me, right? So we should (paradoxically) fight incursion into data privacy simply by releasing all biometric data about ourselves.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Also quite amusing was the comparison of the IP debate to Tom and Jerry, that iconic Cat (Kat?) and Mouse duo who are perpetually chasing one another. Tom the Cat represents Big Business, corporate interests, the USTR, etc. Tom is chasing (but can never quite catch) Jerry the Mouse, who represents civil society, human rights activists, the open source movement, etc. An audience member pointedly observed that Jerry typically runs around for a bit and then disappears into a hole in the wall, where he stays for some time before emerging to torture Tom again. The obvious point is that activists (i.e., the audience at the Global Congress) will never make substantial progress until they stop disappearing for long periods of time and start acting more like a cat (or even, perhaps, like a dog).</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/3rd-global-congress-ip-and-public-interest-open-air-conference-innovation-and-ip-africa'>http://cis-india.org/news/3rd-global-congress-ip-and-public-interest-open-air-conference-innovation-and-ip-africa</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to Knowledge2014-01-05T02:52:03ZNews Item5 things you need to know about online privacy policieshttp://cis-india.org/news/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-online-privacy-policies-1
<b>Ever since Google tweaked it's privacy policy on January 24, online confidentiality and its future has been the topic of a raging public debate, making it hard for an average Internet user to decide what he should and should not share on an online platform. Experts say that the key here is to understand each of the terms and policies before you sign in. Indu Nandakumar writes in the Economic Times on 2 February 2012.</b>
<h2>How is Data Retained?</h2>
<p>The data retention policy allows the online provider to hold personal
information about you. But the question is, for how long will they hold
your data?</p>
<p>Data, here includes personal information such as your name, address,
date of birth, photographs and transaction information such as when did
you last log into your account, from which device, from which IP
address, whose profiles did you visit etc.<br />
<br />
It's ridiculous to ask "what bits of the privacy policy" should you
read, says Graham Cluely, a senior consultant with security software
developer Sophos.<br />
<br />
"Because the only sensible answer is 'all of it.' Only you can decide if you're comfortable with it, so read it and you decide."</p>
<h2>What are the Legal Implications?</h2>
<p>It is important to understand under what circumstances will the
website share your personal information with the Central and State
government agencies. For instance, Facebook would have to share your
information with the Ministry of Home Affairs since Facebook has an
office in Hyderabad and comes under the purview of the Indian IT Act.<br />
<br />
"But Twitter could deny user information to the Egyptian government
during the 2011 Arab protests as it did not fall under the Egyptian
jurisdiction," says Sunil Abraham, executive director of the Centre for
Internet and Society, Bangalore.</p>
<h2>What Happens after Your Account is Deleted?</h2>
<p>Experts say that deleting your account is not the end of it all as
social networks usually store your personal information even after you
delete the account. For instance, Google stores your data for nearly
nine months even after you delete your <a href="http://cis-india.org/news/economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/GMail" class="external-link">GMail</a> account.</p>
<p>Similarly, Twitter stores your IP address and personal information for a certain period after you delete your account.</p>
<h2>What Personal Data is Shared with Private Organisations?</h2>
<p>Apart from the information you share while creating the account,
social networks also process and share personal data such as
photographs, likes and events with their business partners and
social-media analytics and monitoring agencies.<br />
<br />
"So the basic rule is don't upload anything to the Internet which you
don't want your mother-in-law or your boss to see, as you can't
necessarily trust the various sites to keep them securely," says Graham
Cluely.<br />
<br />
"Further, think carefully about what other information you may be sharing online - such as your location".</p>
<h2>What Can an Individual Do?</h2>
<p>The easiest thing is to customise every aspect of your privacy policy, according computer security firm <a class="external-link" href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/Kaspersky%20Labs">Kaspersky Labs</a>.
For instance, on social networks such Google Plus, Facebook and
Twitter, you may limit the information you display to certain groups of
people.</p>
<p>"India needs to have a broad and horizontal law that establishes
online privacy as a right. Unlike in European countries, India doesn't
have a privacy commissioner who can state the principles, interpret the
data and question the online providers," says Sunil Abraham.</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-02-02/news/31017258_1_privacy-policy-social-networks-personal-information">The original article was published in the Economic Times</a>. Sunil Abraham has been quoted in this.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-online-privacy-policies-1'>http://cis-india.org/news/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-online-privacy-policies-1</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishna2012-04-30T12:02:40ZNews Item7th India Digital Summit 2013http://cis-india.org/news/7th-india-digital-summit-2013
<b>This summitt organised by Internet and Mobile Association of India is being held in New Delhi from January 16 to 17, 2013 at the Lalit Hotel</b>
<p>Sunil Abraham is the moderator for Plenary Session 3: Discussion on Social Media – Freedom, Moderation or Regulation.</p>
<p><a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/7th-india-digital-summit-2013" class="internal-link">Click to download the agenda</a></p>
<h3>Theme of the Summit</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">951 million mobile users with 448 million mobile data subscribers; 137 million Internet users and rural Internet growing 7x in the last two years make India one of the top three digital markets in the world. One of only top two at this scale with free market economy democratic polity; and the only one where there is still headroom for growth. The time to invest in Digital India is now.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">By 2020 riding on a government investment of 4 billion USD [roughly 10 billion USD on PPP terms] Internet users is expected to be 600 million; and mobile would possibly penetrate 100% of rural India creating the largest free economy digital market in the world.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Digital Opportunity now and in the next 5 years in India is explosive. And the need to create a Digital Economy on scale is a developmental necessity. The opportunity, however, lies in addressing the current challenges of the ability to provide: low cost connectivity, universal access, usable content, secure networks, affordable devices and enabling policy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Building on the theme of “Creating the World’s Largest Free Market Digital Economy” the 7th India Digital Summit will focus on five tracks: Infrastructure, Regulatory Frameworks, Services &amp; Content, Entrepreneurship / Innovation and Business 3.0.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Webcast of the Event</h2>
<h3>Day 1, January 16, 2013</h3>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Inaugural</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Welcome Address</a></b><br />Mr. Hitesh Oberoi, Chairman, IAMAI &amp; Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Info Edge India Limited<br /><b><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Address by Chief Guest</a></b><br />Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Government of India<b><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Keynote Address by</a></b><br />Mr. R Chandrashekhar, Chairman (TC) &amp; Secretary , Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications and IT</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Plenary Session 1: 1000 digital startups a year: How to make it happen?</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Session Chair and presenter: <br />Mr. Satyan Gajwani, CEO, Times Internet</p>
<p>Presenter ‐</p>
<ul>
<li>Mr. Mahesh Murthy, Founder, Pinstorm and Co-founder, Seedfund</li>
<li>Mr. Manish Vij, Founder, VUN Network</li>
<li>Mr. Pranay Gupta, Joint CEO, Centre for Innovation</li>
<li>Mr. Rajesh Sawhney, Founder, GSF Accelerator &amp; Superangels</li>
<li>Mr. Mukund Mohan, CEO in Residence, Microsoft Startup Accelerator</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>
<p>Business track</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Topic: Importance of Creativity to Digital Advertising</a></p>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Session Chair and presenter Neville Taraporewalla, Sr. Director - Emerging Markets| India, Malaysia,Thailand &amp; Korea, Advertising and Online, Microsoft</p>
<p><b>Discussion:</b></p>
<ul>
<li>M Mohit Hira, Senior Vice President &amp; Regional Business Leader-Airtel, JWT</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Vineet Gupta, Managing Partner, 22feet Communications</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Arun Sharma, VP Marketing - Head Media &amp; Rural, Bharti Airtel</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Vikas Tandon, Managing Director, Indigo Consulting Aditya Save, Head-Media &amp; Digital Marketing, Marico </li>
</ul>
<p><b>Audience Interaction </b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">“Lowering the barrier for mobile web - for both operators and users”</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Keynote Address by Mr. Peter Panait Løjmand, Senior Vice President, Opera Software<br />Interaction with Mr. Sanjay Goyal, Chief Executive Officer, ACL Wireless <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Plenary Session 2: Cloud – Leveraging the Cloud for Business Efficiency </a><br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Session Chair and presenter<br />Mr. Manoj Chugh, Regional President, Global Accounts-APJ, EMC</p>
<p>Presenters:</p>
<ul>
<li>Mr. Manav Khanna, Sr. Consultant –Enterprise Security, SafeNet Inc.</li>
<li>Mr. Jasminder Singh Gulati, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Nowfloats</li>
<li>Mr. Ravi Shankar, Chief Executive Officer, Nevales Networks</li>
<li>Mr. Mandar Kulkarni, Vice President, Solution Engg &amp; Pvt. Cloud Practice, Netmagic</li>
<li>Mr. Balaka Baruah Aggarwal, Business Evangelist, Amazon Web Services</li>
<li>Mr. Jaydeep Nargund, Head Services-India, AKAMAI</li>
<li>Mr. Vivek Ravindran, Director-Core &amp; App Platform, Microsoft</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Email Marketing Roundtable with juvlon</a><br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Email Marketing in the Year of the Snake - 2013<br />Presented by Mr. Naresh Bhagtani, CEO, Juvlon, Niche Software <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">“Unique Identity and Its Positive Externalities for Inclusiveness"<br /></a><br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Keynote Address by Mr. Nandan Nilekani , Chairman, UAIDI<br />Interaction with Mr. Shubhashis Gangopadhyay, IDF research</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">“Bharat Broadband [NOFN]: Going extra mile with public investment”</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Keynote Address by Mr. Sam Pitroda<br />Interaction with Mr. Lalitesh Katragadda, Country Head-India Products, Google</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Plenary Session 3: Discussion on Social media – Freedom, moderation or regulation</a><br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Session Chair &amp; Moderator:<br />Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, The Centre for Internet and Society <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Discussion with:</b></p>
<ul>
<li>Rajesh Kalra, Chief Editor, Times Internet</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> R Sukumar, Managing Editor, Mint</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Shivam Vij, Kafila.org </li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Track 3: The last mile of customer connect: m-Engagement from OPENHOUSE</a><br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Presenter:<br />Mr. Ankit Singh, Senior Manager, Enterprise mobility, IMI Mobile<br />Mr. Ramesh Raman , Senior manager, Marketing, IMI Mobile</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3>Day 2, January 17, 2013</h3>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">“Future of Apps and their Monetization”</a> <br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Keynote Address by Mr. Ilja Laurs, Founder and Chairman, GetJar<br />Moderated by : Mr. Kiruba Shankar</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">“Communications challenges in the age of Social media” </a><br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Keynote address by <br />Dr Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Government of India<br />Interaction with audience Moderated by Mr. R Jagannanthan<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>
<p>Track 4:</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">CXOs Closed door discussion on Local Language – The Game Changer</a></p>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Session moderated by<br />Gyan Gupta, Chief Operating Officer, Dainik Bhaskar;<br /><br />Address by speakers<br />Mr. Arvind Pani, Co-founder, Reverie language Technologies<br />Mr. Ajay Gallwale, Founder, Maayboli<br />Mr. C Mathew, DGM (Marketing), Malayala Manorama Mr. Manoj Gupta, Head, VAS &amp; Applications, Micromax</p>
<p><b>Audience Interaction<br />Summarising by Moderator </b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Start-Up Unconference</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>A peer to peer, informal sharing of views between new entrepreneurs and start-ups of our industry <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Chaired by:<br />Mr. Sanjiv Bikhchandani, Founder and Executive Vice Chairman, Infoedge</p>
<p>Moderator by:<br />Kiruba Shankar</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Plenary Session 5: Discussion on e-Commerce 2.0– Emerging trend </a><br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Session Chair &amp; Moderator:<br />Mr. Avnish Bajaj, Managing Director, Matrix Partners</p>
<p>In Discussion with:</p>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Alok Mittal, Managing Director, Canaan Patners India</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Sachin Bansal, Co-founder &amp; CEO, Flipkart</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Sundeep Malhotra, Chief Executive Officer, HomeShop18</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Muralikrishnan B, Country Manager, eBay</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Mukesh Bansal, Founder, Myntra.com</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Ankur Warikoo, Chief Executive Officer, Groupon India</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Plenary Session 6: Marketers Viewpoint – Online and Mobile Marketing </a><br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Session Chair:<br />Mr. Upen Rai, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, AntFarm</p>
<p>Presenters:</p>
<ul>
<li>Mr. Sanjay Tripathy, EVP - Head Marketing, Products and Direct Channels - HDFC Life</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Manish Kalra, Chief Marketing Officer, Makemytrip</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Vinay Bhatia, Customer Care Associate and VP - Marketing and Loyalty, Shoppers Stop</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Samil Malhotra, Vice President Sales and Marketing. The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Manu Kumar Jain, Co-founder &amp; Managing Director, Jabong</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">Plenary Session 7: Interaction: Attracting and retaining talent for Digital Industry </a><br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Thought sharing by Industry Leaders </b></p>
<p>Interaction between Industry leaders and Students<br />Industry Leaders:</p>
<ul>
<li>Mr. Sanjiv Bikhchandani, Founder and Executive Vice Chairman, Infoedge</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Deep Kalra, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Makemytrip</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Anupam Mittal, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, People Group</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, IndiaMART</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Mr. Neville Taraporewalla, Sr. Director , Emerging Markets-India, Malaysia, Thailand &amp; Korea, Advertising and Online, Microsoft</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Student Entrepreneurs:<br />FMS<br />IMT Ghaziabad<br />IITD Moderated by Kiruba Shankar</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a class="external-link" href="http://24framesdigital.com/iamai/webcast/160113/">India Digital Award Ceremony</a><br /></th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/7th-india-digital-summit-2013'>http://cis-india.org/news/7th-india-digital-summit-2013</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2013-02-13T06:32:31ZNews ItemNext CPOV Conference in Leipzighttp://cis-india.org/news/CPOV-conference-Leipzig
<b>Two CPOV conferences have been held so far. The first one in Bangalore and the second one in Amsterdam, the third is to be held in Leipzig.</b>
<p>The Critical Point of View (CPOV), a Wikipedia research initiative organized in partnership with the Centre of Internet and Society (Bangalore, India), has so far successfully produced two conferences:&nbsp; One in Bangalore in January 2010 and one in Amsterdam in March of the same year. Reports, videos, the mailing list and further resources can be accessed at the <a class="external-link" href="http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/cpov/">CPOV website</a>.</p>
<p>A reader based on the conferences is currently being produced and is planned to be released by January 2011 as a part of the INC reader series.</p>
<p>A next conference is foreseen to take place in Leipzig (Germany) 25-26 September 2010 and will be a German speaking CPOV event. For news and updates check the <a class="external-link" href="http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/cpov/leipzig/">project’s website</a>.</p>
<p></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/CPOV-conference-Leipzig'>http://cis-india.org/news/CPOV-conference-Leipzig</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaResearch2011-04-02T11:27:16ZNews ItemThe new language of Internet: A report on the Chutnefying Hinglish Conferencehttp://cis-india.org/news/Hinglish
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, was an institutional partner to India's first Global Conference on Hinglish - Chutnefying English, organised by Dr. Rita Kothari at the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad. A photographic report for the event is now available here.</b>
<p></p>
<p>In January of 2009, Dr. Rita Kothari, at the Mudra Institute
of Communications, Ahmedabad, organised the first global conference called “<a class="external-link" href="http://conferences.mica-india.net/">Chutneyfying
English</a>”, calling in various stakeholders from different walks of life –
academics, scholars, researchers, actors, cultural producers, authors and
consumers to critically examine the growing phenomenon of Hinglish and how it
intersects with our globalised lives. The two day conference brought together a
series of presentations, ranging from academic papers to lively round table
discussions to panels that looked at the different manifestations of Hinglish
and the political and aesthetic potential of this particular form. Scholars
like <a class="external-link" href="http://www.mica-india.net/AcademicsandResearch/Profiles/Profiles%20new/Rita.htm">Rita Kothari</a>, Harish Trivedi, <a href="http://cis-india.org/../about/people/staff/nishant-shah" class="internal-link" title="Nishant Shah">Nishant Shah</a>, Daya Thussu, Shanon Finch and
Rupert Snell were complemented by cultural producers like <a class="external-link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nandita_Das">Nandita Das</a>, R. Raj
Rao, and <a class="external-link" href="http://www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/staff/index.cfm?S=STAFF_skot005">Shuchi Kothari</a>. Literary stakeholders like <a class="external-link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urvashi_Butalia">Urvashi
Bhutalia</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://pipl.com/directory/people/Bachi/Karkaria">Bachi Karkaria</a>, and Tej Bhatia rubbed shoulders with more mainstream
practitioners like Prasoon Joshi, <a class="external-link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahesh_Bhatt">Mahesh Bhatt</a> and Cyrus Broacha.</p>
<p>The Centre for Internet and Society was an<a class="external-link" href="http://conferences.mica-india.net/sponsors.html"> institutional
partner</a> for the event, and supported the panel on New Media, which saw four
paper presentations and a discussion moderated by Nishant Shah, Director
Research at the CIS. The panel explored diverse presentations from Mattangi
Krishnamurthy, Pramod Nair and Supriya Gokarn, who looked at the diverse ways
in which the rise of Internet and digital technologies is not only changing the
ways in which people express themselves, but they are also leading to complex
ways in which new conditions of identity, consumption and politics are
manifesting themselves. Nishant Shah responded to the panel by positing the
idea of Hinglish as a paradigm, rather than a set of characteristics, which
goes beyond the questions of language and actually resides in the aesthetic
conditions of the internet technologies.</p>
<p>A photographic documentation of the event with an
introduction by Dr. Rita Kothari, the chief organiser and curator for the
conference is now available for a free download <a href="http://cis-india.org/../research/conferences/Hinglish/at_download/file" class="external-link">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/Hinglish'>http://cis-india.org/news/Hinglish</a>
</p>
No publishernishantResearch2011-04-02T15:10:19ZNews ItemIndia slowly gets to grips with ecommercehttp://cis-india.org/news/India-gets-to-grips-with-ecommerce
<b>Growth in computer use and Internet penetration will help e-commerce. </b>
<p>Vipul Modi is a busy high court lawyer in India's financial capital Mumbai. Like many people, he uses the Internet to buy rail and airline tickets as well as pay his utility bills. Yet when it comes to buying other products online, the 44-year-old has misgivings, particularly about the security of his bank account details and other personal data.<br /><br />"Online shopping is not something that we feel comfortable with... because the responsibility of something being misused is on the consumer compared with the United States, where it's on the credit card companies," he told AFP.<br /><br />"And I'd still not buy some things online because I still like to go and see what it is."<br /><br />From books to groceries, Internet shopping has become popular in many Western countries for people with disposable income, busy lifestyles and unpredictable working hours.<br /><br />As Indian society, particularly in big cities such as Mumbai and the capital New Delhi, changes along similar lines on the back of the country's economic expansion, retailers are now looking to follow suit.<br /><br />Gift shop chain The Bombay Store last month became the latest outlet to launch an online facility, following in the footsteps of major retailers such as Big Bazaar, Pantaloons and shopping portals on websites like www.rediff.com.<br /><br />"Online shopping in India is on the cusp of taking off," said Deepa Thomas, a senior manager at the online auction site www.ebay.in, which has 2.5 million registered users in nearly 2,500 locations across the country.<br /><br />"But when it comes to things like product shopping there's still a fairly long way to go."<br /><br />For a country with 1.1 billion people, India's use of computers and the Internet is still low, despite being a major player in global information technology and outsourcing.<br /><br />At present only eight percent of Indian households have access to a personal computer, the country's IT and communications minister, Sachin Pilot, said on a visit to Washington in March.<br /><br />Of India's estimated 60 million Internet users, about six million shop online, with the ecommerce market thought to be worth about 100 billion rupees (2.2 billion dollars) and expanding at about 30 percent a year, Thomas said.<br /><br />At present, social networking, email and accessing news and sports sites remain the mainstay of computer use for most Indians.<br /><br />Pilot has predicted an "exponential growth" in computer use and Internet penetration in the coming years, as the government works to extend broadband access into 250,000 out of India's more than 600,000 villages.<br /><br />Industry analysts such as Nishant Shah, director of research at the Centre for Internet and Society in the southern city of Bangalore, India's IT hub, said that can only help develop ecommerce.<br /><br />"The countries where Internet shopping has been on the upswing are countries with highly developed broadband infrastructure which allows for quick, easy and secure connections," Shah said in an email interview.<br /><br />"The lack of strong digital infrastructure means that the Internet is still used by a large majority of people for 'functional' things - jobs, retrieving information, communication, social networking."<br /><br />Unlike other countries, India's half-a-billion mobile phone subscribers could drive the sector's expansion, he added.<br /><br />The government is currently auctioning 3G licences, which would enable more users to access data at high-speed, instead of having to rely on slow, dial-up connections at places such as public cyber cafes, making transactions easier.<br /><br />Thomas said eBay was launching a mobile phone application for buying and selling by the end of June, predicting that "mobile web is going to become a big part of developing the market".<br /><br />For Asim Dalal, managing director of The Bombay Store, going online makes business sense in the global economy as it expands the company's reach beyond India's borders.<br /><br />"International visitors comprise approximately 25 percent of our sales," he said in a statement. "Since they mostly are on visit or tour to India, their repeat purchases for gifting or home were restricted."<br /><br />But if and how quickly Indian consumers will change habits is hard to tell, with a preference for cash transactions and personal contact with suppliers, particularly for food and clothing at bustling markets.</p>
<p>Read the original article in the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/india-slowly-gets-to-grips-with-ecommerce-1975188.html">Independent</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/India-gets-to-grips-with-ecommerce'>http://cis-india.org/news/India-gets-to-grips-with-ecommerce</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2011-04-04T06:46:27ZNews ItemCIS – Internet is neither good nor badhttp://cis-india.org/news/Internet-not-good-not-bad
<b>This post is also available in: French, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil)</b>
<p>The Center for Internet and Society is a non-profit based in Bangalore, India, created by Sunil Abraham, founder of Mahiti. The aim is to understand and shape the internet and its relation with society and politics using research, intervention and collaboration.<br /><br />The internet is often demonized or mythified and generally misunderstood. It is a good initiative to try to understand it through methodical research and to produce a pedagogical framework that allows us to see as it is.<br /><br />The CIS is collaborating with researchers in other fields. In fact, studying the internet implies to study its interactions with politics, society, economy… Maybe it is a good way of understanding not only the internet, but also the general current social change of which internet is a symptom. Interactivity, communities, networking, collaboration, collective knowledge, increase of connections, ability to speak out and be heard as an individual… are many changes that our society are living and of which internet is the symptom.<br /><br />Internet is neither good nor bad. It is just a new tool that has a potential in helping development, increase transparency and social change. The internet is neutral, it is the way we use it which is bad, good, or silly, like any other innovation (see our article on innovation). It is our duty to be conscious of this and to try to push forward the internet in the right direction.</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://socialter.fr/en/cis-internet-is-neither-good-nor-bad/">Link to the original article</a></p>
video <embed height="100%" width="100%" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="never" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/hJtRgdqTTgI%2Em4v" wmode="transparent"></embed><img src="http://stats.vodpod.com/stats/view/5503730/625132/5327/pod.gif" alt="" height="1" width="1" />
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/Internet-not-good-not-bad'>http://cis-india.org/news/Internet-not-good-not-bad</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaResearch2011-04-02T12:09:52ZNews ItemScrap UID project, say people's organisations http://cis-india.org/news/Scrap-UID-project
<b>The unique identification number project is executed without any legislative or parliamentary sanction.</b>
<p>Representatives of people's movements, mass organisations and institutions on Wednesday said the unique identification number (UID) project is being executed without any legislative or parliamentary sanction and demanded an end to it.</p>
<p>Sunil Abraham, executive director of the Centre for Internet and Society told press persons here that neither the launch of the UID project nor the constitution of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had any legislative sanction. Nothing is known of how the chairperson of the authority is selected, while the project proposes finger-printing of the entire population and storing of biometric and personal data of every person throughout his life and thereafter.</p>
<p>“Although the scheme is to only provide verification of identity, it is unclear what safeguards would prevent third parties from handling, sharing and utilising the data for any purpose,” he said. The UIDAI has agreed to use the services of foreign companies, their software and hardware. It appears that no thought has been give to the perils of placing in the hands of foreign companies data pertaining to the entire population of the country, Mr. Abraham felt. About the claims that the UID project will save crores of rupees by preventing misuse of various welfare schemes, Mr. Abraham questioned whether any feasibility study had been made in this regard.</p>
<p>The UID, the National Population Registry and the NATGRID, once combined and connected, pose grave concerns pertaining to civil liberties and fundamental rights.</p>
<p>Read the original article in the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/2010/04/29/stories/2010042960600500.htm">Hindu</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/Scrap-UID-project'>http://cis-india.org/news/Scrap-UID-project</a>
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No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2011-04-02T12:26:57ZNews ItemUID Act may be released for debate, may be introduced in monsoon sessionhttp://cis-india.org/news/UID-in-monsoon-session
<b>An article by Karen Leigh & Surabhi Agarwal in livemint on June 30, 2010.</b>
<p>The government has moved to create a legal basis for its ambitious project to provide all residents with numeric identity cards and guarantee the safety of demographic and biometric data being collected for it.</p>
<p>The draft National Identification Authority of India Act, 2010, was put up for public debate on Tuesday, and is likely to be introduced when Parliament convenes for its monsoon session.</p>
<p>The Act provides for the creation of the National Identity Authority of India to oversee the implementation of the Aadhaar project, but its jurisdiction will not extend to Jammu and Kashmir.</p>
<p>“This Bill will give the authority a legislative framework to function,” said R.S. Sharma, director general of the Unique Identification Authority ofIndia (UIDAI), the nodal agency currently overseeing Aadhaar.</p>
<p>Sharma said the Bill contains provisions that will make sure that sensitive data is protected and there are no hacking attempts. It lays down that “the authority shall ensure the security and confidentiality of identity information of individuals”.</p>
<p>UIDAI is collecting fingerprints and eye scans of all residents, along with other information, for Aadhaar.</p>
<p>The Bill “will also make sure that data related to a citizen’s caste or religion is not collected or chronicled”, Sharma added.</p>
<p>The Bill lays down that impersonation using Aadhaar data can lead to a three-year jail term and a fine of Rs10,000. Unauthorized collection or dissemination of identity information will also invite a three-year jail term, or a Rs1 lakh fine, or both.</p>
<p>The heftiest penalty of Rs1 crore along with three years’ imprisonment has been specified for unauthorized access to the central database, which will contain all individual details collected for Aadhaar.</p>
<p>Although the Bill lays down that no information stored in the database shall be revealed by UIDAI officials, it allows disclosure of personal information in a case of national security. Information can be disclosed on the direction of an officer of joint secretary level or above in the Union government, with the approval of the minister in charge.</p>
<p>But civil rights activists say the safety measures in the Bill are not enough.</p>
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<p>“It doesn’t have any of the safeguards and provisions necessary to protect the rights of citizens. It’s only protecting the interests of the UIDAI,” said Sunil Abraham, executive director of the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society and a critic of the Aadhaar project.</p>
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<p>“They have criminalized an imaginary crime—if the technology were infallible, which is what they claim biometrics is, then you can’t create ghost identities. They’re saying that ghost identities will still be there; that the technology is, in fact, not foolproof.”</p>
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<p>Rahul Matthan, founding partner of law firm Trilegal, said the Bill will give a legal basis to UIDAI for collecting data and allotting identities.</p>
<p>“Provisions in the Act on data protection are limited as it can’t be a substitute for an over-arching data protection legislation in the country, which will deal with all kinds of citizen data,” he said.</p>
<p>The Union government is mulling over a separate privacy Bill to safeguard individual data privacy, as reported by Mint on 21 June. The move is aimed at deflecting worries over the safety of the immense amount of data it proposes to collect about its citizens for various programmes, including Aadhaar.</p>
<p>Read the original article in <a class="external-link" href="http://www.livemint.com/2010/06/29214343/UID-Act-released-for-debate-m.html?atype=tp">livemint</a>.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/UID-in-monsoon-session'>http://cis-india.org/news/UID-in-monsoon-session</a>
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No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2011-04-02T11:27:53ZNews Item‘UID is being forced’http://cis-india.org/news/UID-is-forced
<b>CIS feels that the UID project is forced on the citizens.</b>
<p>The Centre for Internet and Society on Wednesday said the UID project — Aadhaar — is being forced on the citizens. Speaking to reporters, the centre’s executive director Sunil Abraham said: “The 16-digit UID number will be mentioned on the driver’s license, PAN card, ration card and voter’s identity card with other important data. It is not transparent. Since the UID database is available online, hackers can easily obtain vital information.’’</p>
<p>Read the article in the <a class="external-link" href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIBG&amp;showST=true&amp;login=default&amp;pub=TOI&amp;Enter=true&amp;Skin=TOINEW&amp;GZ=T&amp;AW=1272533977015">Times of India</a></p>
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For more details visit <a href='http://cis-india.org/news/UID-is-forced'>http://cis-india.org/news/UID-is-forced</a>
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No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2011-04-02T12:20:18ZNews Item